


(you are) always the one that makes my heart race faster than the speed of light

by EVIESDRAGON



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, FEEL THE BEAT AU FOLKS, Fluff and Angst, Some Humor, hopefully you'll enjoy this too, y'all know how the movie goes i worked with it the way i did with the tatb au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:08:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25433653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EVIESDRAGON/pseuds/EVIESDRAGON
Summary: FEEL THE BEAT AU (MALVIE EDITION)
Relationships: Evie & Mal (Disney), Evie/Mal (Disney)
Comments: 42
Kudos: 67





	1. o n e

Early bird gets the worm, right?

That’s what Evie thought. She was always the earliest bird. And an early bird in New York City was sure to get the juiciest worms. Well, maybe it sounded a bit gross, but Evie still needed it to be true, or else the alarm going off right about now was nothing but an annoyance.

Right. The alarm.

Evie blindly turned it off and made sure to get up. She couldn’t risk oversleeping. And she had some warm up to do. Because, see, Evie Grimhilde was a chorus dancer. And she had a major audition that morning. Nothing would stand in her way. Except maybe the letter that was delivered under her tiny apartment door.

“They’re gonna kick me out…” Evie mumbled to herself with a sigh and then threw the letter into the counter. She’d deal with that later. It was audition time. And she really needed to get that part.

New York was busy and loud, as always and as expected. That was already a bummer but to Evie’s dismay, it was also raining and she couldn’t find a taxi to get her to the audition.

“Great…” She mumbled while walking down the street. “Taxi!” She then yelled looking around, trying to keep her blue hair as dry as possible with only her bag to protect it.

Evie jogged a little still looking for any signs of a taxi only stopping at the edge of the road.

“C’mon…”

She looked around again.

“C’mon taxi!”

And just like that, one finally turned up. Evie’s luck was changing. Or was it?

Turns out something else was in her way that morning and it came in the form of an older woman, standing on the other side of the road, waiting and looking at the same vehicle.

_Oh, no, you don’t._

They stared at each other for a moment before Evie took off running, the other woman right after her and Evie realized that if she wanted to get there first, she had to say goodbye to partially dry hair. She dropped her bag and started running faster. Still, the woman got there first, opening the door, but Evie swiftly swooped in, in between the woman and the door.

“Thank you!”

“This is my taxi!” The woman protested.

Evie glared at her.

“This is a matter of life or death.” And without further ado, Evie slammed the door in her face and shouted the address at the taxi driver, who was way too accustomed to people yelling and being in a rush. It was New York City after all.

_Nothing will stand in my way._

//

“Be fierce!”

Evie stood on the side with the rest of her group, as the current one was dancing. She shook her head hearing the pleads for more energy and passion coming from the woman responsible for this audition, her name was Collete, Evie had learned. None of those women had what it takes. She was so much better than them. Evie smiled to herself.

_I got this in the bag._

“Next group!”

Evie walked with confidence, chin up and a tiny smirk on her lips. She was an excellent dancer. She had this.

An exhale. A beat. And the music started.

Collete was yelling at them too but Evie honestly wasn’t listening. She focused on herself. And in how good she knew she was. So much so that she even changed the final part of the routine they were asked to dance. Pirouettes in high heels weren’t part of the program and neither was Evie’s grand finale precisely as the song ended. She was a flexible woman, so she did the splits, feeling all eyes on her.

Another exhale.

_‘Nailed it.’_

“Well we’ve got a few cuts to make, ladies.” Evie heard Collete say.

She was sure she was better than everyone else as all the contestants all lined up and waited for Miss Collete to dictate their fate, by calling them by their numbers. She heard a few being called out and not knowing if that was good or bad was making Evie a little nervous.

“Sixteen and… twenty-two.”

Evie couldn’t even look up, concerned. What if she had failed?

“Front row, thank you.”

Evie couldn’t help but feel defeated even though she didn’t know what that meant. She shook her head, ever so slightly.

“You’re cut.” Collete finally said.

Evie sighed, relieved. She wasn’t cut. She made it. Her hard work payed off.

“One moment, ladies. I’ll be right back.”

As Collete and the defeated group of dancers walked away from the stage, Evie and the remaining ones stepped forward. Evie was smirking, proud of her accomplishment. Collete was back as quick as she left.

“Ruth Zimmer would like to take a look at you. She’s coming in now.” Collete informed.

Evie was still basking on the good feeling when she overheard who she assumed was Miss Ruth, talking to Collete.

“Oh, I’m soaked to the bone!” Ruth complained.

“What?” Collete sighed. “That’s horrid!”

“Oh my god!”

The two women walked inside and Evie’s blood ran cold. Ruth Zimmer was no other than the woman that Evie had stolen the taxi ride from that very morning. Her mind started racing. Would Ruth recognize her? Was she in trouble?

“What kind of selfish girl would do that to Ruth Zimmer?” Collete wondered as they stopped in front of the dancers.

Ruth’s eyes were on Evie’s for a moment and she prayed to every god this wouldn’t destroy her chances of getting the part.

“She would!”

The other dancers immediately stepped back, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire. Ruth didn’t look pleased, not one bit. She stepped forward and Evie did feel scared, but she held her ground.

“So, you’re a really good dancer, are you?” Ruth wondered and her fake interested tone wasn’t a good sign. Still, Evie nodded slightly.

“I’ll bet you’re really good. You look like you are,” She continued, staring at Evie from head to toe and it genuinely made Evie so uncomfortable that she couldn’t help but to shift nervously in her spot. “Like you put every hour of every day into sharpening every skill and every move so you can be perfect.”

Well, Ruth wasn’t wrong about that. Evie didn’t feel like that was going to help her case, though. Her heart sank when Ruth spoke up next, without an ounce of mercy.

“But missy, your dreams will never come true, because as long as I live and I’ve got a lot of years left, I will make sure that you are never hired for any show on Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway.”

That cold hard statement made Evie’s bone rattle. That couldn’t be happening. Ruth Zimmer was going to completely ruin her career.

“Your career is over, chorus girl!”

Evie desperately tried to do something.

“Miss Zimmer please—“

“Bring back your next choice, Collete.” Ruth was not listening, though. Even Collete sighed at that request. She knew the ones she had cut off previously were not nearly as good as Evie.

“I can explain,” Evie tried. “That won’t be necessary.”

Still, Collete walked out of the stage.

“You’re done.” Ruth stated and her word was final. But Evie was not going to let it go.

“Miss Zimmer, please,, could you just let—“Evie tried again, reaching for Ruth’s hand.

“ _Let go_.”

“Please. If you just— Please!“ Evie desperately held on to her hand while Ruth ordered her to let go and started pushing away.

“Let me explain! You’ll understand!”

Evie couldn’t stop it. Ruth yanked her arm so hard, trying to get away from Evie that she tripped and fully fell from the stage with a screech. All Evie could do was freeze in place and watch it happen.

“Chorus girl!” Ruth grunted from the floor, seemingly in pain.

Evie dreaded what could happen to her if she stayed there to let it happen so she bolted as fast as her legs allowed her and got on the nearest taxi to ride back to her apartment. She tried not to freak out during the car ride. Her career couldn’t really be over. Could it? She couldn’t just throw everything she worked so hard for away because of Ruth Zimmer’s threat. Could she?

“Stupid audition… Fuck Ruth Zimmer…” Evie angrily grumbled as she pulled the building door open and looked for her keys while walking up the stairs.

“Aye, someone had a good mernin’!”

Evie rolled her eyes, still looking for the damn keys that for some reason were thirty feet buried inside her purse.

“What, Harold? I’ve had the worst morning,” She grunted staring at Harry Hook, probably her only friend in New York. She loved him but she wasn’t in the mood for his teasing habits.

“Ah know. Ah saw it.” He replied, trying to stifle a laugh.

Evie stopped looking for her keys and stared at her Scottish friend.

“ _What?_ ”

“Yer all over me feed, wee lassie. All over it.” Harry informed with a chuckle, walking back inside his own tiny apartment, inviting Evie to follow him.

“Harry, what are you talking about?” Evie was quick to follow him and Harry grinned amusedly while grabbing his phone and showing it to Evie. It read **“EPIC FAIL – GIRL PUSHES RUTH ZIMMER OFF STAGE !!”**

“Oh my gosh…”

Turns out someone had recorded the Ruth Zimmer incident and posted it online. Not just online. On a very specific YouTube channel called “Broadway Dance Fails”. Evie couldn’t believe her eyes.

Harry cackled like a mad man as the video went on, finding the whole situation way too funny.

“Stop!” Evie slapped his arm. “That wasn’t my fault.” Harry looked at her with an amused expression. “She slipped and fell!” Evie insisted.

“Aye, and she broke her leg and her wrist,” Harry informed and giggled as his phone got a notification. “Oh, look. Another person retweeted it tae me.”

“How many people watched this? Like a couple hundred?” Evie asked.

“Oh, more like thirty-thousand,” Harry giggled but seeing the look on Evie’s face he stopped himself. “But who’s countin’, eh?”

“This can’t be happening,” Evie mumbled, sitting down on a chair. “She doesn’t actually have the power to ruin my career, right?” When she was met with silence, she continued on. “Just because she’s one of the biggest money people on Broadway?”

“Please,” Harry shrugged.

Evie sighed. Harry was trying to sugar coat it for her but she knew better.

“I better call my agent…” She mumbled, pulling out her phone and dialing the number.

It didn’t take long before someone picked up.

“Hi, this is Evie for—“

**_“The Evie who pushed Ruth Zimmer off the stage?”_** Evie heard the woman on the other side ask and rolled her eyes.

“Yes. That Evie.” She heard a click. “Hello? Hello?” She stared at her phone, like that would solve the problem and then looked at Harry, a little shocked. “They hung up.”

“It was really nice knowing ye. Ah mean, have fun teachin’ Jazzercise,” Harry teased her with some dance moves, while sitting across from her. Evie knew he was concerned for her but he couldn’t help himself.

No,” Evie shook her head. “There’s got to be someone who isn’t afraid of her. Someone who will cast whoever they want,”

“No, lass,” Harry also shook his head. “Everyone’s afraid of her.”

Harry was right, Evie thought. But her thoughts soon disappeared when she stared at a magazine on top of Harry’s table and pushed it towards herself.

“Not him,” Evie looked at Harry, hopeful. “Not Welly Wong.”

Harry wasn’t following.

“Aye,” Harry looked back at her. “But, Evie, without an agent, how do ye expect tae get in front of Welly Wong?”

Evie smiled at him. Who cared that she didn’t have an agent anymore? She could do it herself. _She_ just had an idea.

//

Evie considered herself to be a smart woman. If she wasn’t, she wouldn’t have come as far as she did. So, she wondered, now sitting out in the hallway of the apartment that no longer belonged to her, how dancing in front of Welly Wong in the middle of the street was an idea that she thought would work.

She sighed, taking some of the ice cream that, in the middle of the mess, ended up on her hair and licked her finger. Vanilla. A disappointing flavor for a disappointing day, she guessed.

Evie heard her phone ring and pulled it out. It was her father. She was definitely not going to tell him what a mess she was. Still, she took the video call.

“Hey, Dad,”

**“There she is,”** Her dad smiled at her. **“What’s new?”**

“Not much, you know. Just—“ Evie shook her head, trying to keep it together. “Paying my dues,“

**“It’ll happen. You’ve got the talent, sweetie,”** Her dad replied. He really believed that and in any other day, so would’ve Evie. **“Are… You out in the hallway?”** He then asked.

“Yeah…Uh…Just waiting for my takeout,” Evie lied. It was a poor lie, she knew that but she was hoping it would work.

**“Doing alright otherwise? Do you need anything?”**

“No,” Evie shook her head, looking up and hoping her dad wouldn’t notice the tears that were threatening to fall. “All good.” She couldn’t keep the conversation going any longer. “Oh, but my food’s here, so I should probably—“

**“Yeah, okay. Call me later, whenever you get a chance.”**

“Yeah, I will. Bye.”

Evie hung up and immediately her eyes welled up with tears. Sitting there after talking to probably the only person who truly believed in her made her want to curl in a ball and cry. She was a disappointment and she wasn’t even strong enough to admit it to her father.

She sighed, trying to keep it together and heard her phone’s message ringtone. She sighed even harder when she unlocked her phone and looked at the message she had just received.

**_‘You can’t fool me. Come home.’ – Dad_ **

****

Going back home it was, she guessed.

//

In a way, Evie was relieved that her dad didn’t buy her lie and immediately showed up to pick her up in his truck. It was always nice to know that someone knew her well enough to help her, even if she wasn’t exactly asking. However, Evie had mixed feelings about going back to her hometown. It would be a change of scenery, which she was totally on board for. But there were consequences to going back. Walking consequences that Evie didn’t really want to deal with.

She looked out the window, lost in thought when her dad pulled her back.

“You heard from Mom lately?”

Evie refrained from rolling her eyes.

“Nope,” She replied, maybe a little dryly. Of course she hadn’t heard from her mother. She hasn’t cared about Evie in years, why would she care now?

“Oh god,” Evie suddenly groaned. “I hope she hasn’t seen that video of me. Or people back here either, I would die,”

“Don’t get too full of yourself,” Her dad shook his head a little, not looking away from the road. “People around here have other things to worry about,”

“Yeah, right,” Evie scoffed.

“It’s probably just me with a Google alert on you,” Her dad smiled a little and she couldn’t help but have a small smile of her own.

“I hate the internet,” She protested as she spotted the _‘Welcome to New Hope, Wisconsin’_

She was officially home. And immediately she rolled her eyes at the familiar buildings and the familiar faces, much like the Churners team and their coach that were crossing the street right in front of them. Not a single thing had changed about that place and Evie wasn’t sure if she was entirely comfortable with that.

As her dad hit the brakes to let them through, she could hear the coach’s words.

“Great! At this rate we’ll be the slowest football team! RJ, pick up the pace!” He shouted at the exhausted boy who huffed something Evie couldn’t quite understand and took off running again. “You too, Goldilocks, come on.”

“I see the team still sucks,” Evie pointed out. Her dad decided to ignore her observation and waved at the coach, who greeted him back and ran off to catch up with his team. Her dad kept on driving and Evie truly couldn’t believe it. It was like the town was stuck in time.

“Has anyone moved into you old store?” She asked absentmindedly.

“No,” Her dad grumbled. “Stupid pharmacy chain, putting us little guys out of business,”

But at least he had a job, Evie thought. Unlike her, he had a job. She was a failure.

“I really blew it, Dad,” Evie then confessed, refusing to look him in the eye. “I’m such a failure.”

“Aw, honey...You know what will make you feel better?” Her dad tried. She gave him an inquiring look.

“Cheese.”

//

Evie’s dad was right about many things. And he was right about this too. Evie did love cheese and there she was, munching on a whole block of it, still at the supermarket. She took a big bite and couldn’t help but moan. What? It was good cheese!

“Evie! Oh!”

Evie’s attention was pulled from her beautiful block of cheese by a voice she knew all too well and it was exactly the type of person she wanted to avoid. Not even a black cap and a hoodie over her head were enough to go by unnoticed, it seemed.

“Miss Barb!” Evie replied with a mouth full of cheese. It wasn’t like she could fly out of there, was it?

“Oh, my gosh! Well I was just getting snacks for the pep rally. Go Churners!”

Evie refrained from rolling her eyes again at the supermarket clerk yelling _‘Go Churners!’_ right in her ear and tried to focus again on Miss Barb, who talked _way too much_ for Evie’s liking.

“…And I thought, ‘Is that Evie?’” She kept going. “But then I go ‘Well, that can’t be Evie, because Evie is in New York City’ and yet, here you are! Oh, my god!”

Overly enthusiastic and over the place bubbly personality were what Miss Barb had always been known for. Evie slowly pulled the hood off her head since it no longer served a purpose, not with Miss Barb screaming in her face.

“Oh, I just saw Mal!” Miss Barb exclaimed and Evie immediately looked over her shoulder. “Well, how funny is that?”

_Great. Hilarious._

“Oh, my gosh! It’s just like old times.” Miss Barb grinned and then lowered her voice to a whisper. “I mean, you know, minus you two being joined at the lips…and before you broke up in that text message,”

Evie shifted uncomfortably and looked down. Why was this woman still talking? And why was she bringing Mal up, out of all the things she could say?

“I can’t believe you’re standing right in front of me!”

Miss Barb then went on, introducing Evie to her daughter and honestly Evie wasn’t exactly listening anymore. She was just scared of bumping into Mal, at this point and she figured it would happen sooner or later. She just wanted it to be later. As late as possible. If possible, not at all.

“She’s a Broadway star!” She heard Miss Barb say and that caught her attention again. She was so uncomfortable and she would pay the woman to please put her out of her misery and stop talking once and for all. She was a big failure, that’s what she was.

“Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh, you have to come by the studio and say hi to the girls!”

That was the last thing Evie needed or wanted.

“I would love to,” Evie tried really hard to sound excited. She wasn’t sure about her acting skills, though. She had to find a way out of this mess.

“Great!”

“But my dad’s been sick—“

“Who’s sick?” Her dad interrupted, peaking over her shoulder.

“Oh no, Frank, are you sick?” Miss Barb asked worriedly.

“Yeah…” Evie replied before her dad could.

“Well, I’ll make you a casserole. That’s- That’s what I’m going to do...”

Evie thought that would be the end of it and almost celebrated internally but turns out she was out of luck. Her dad absolutely did not cover for her and the conversation ended up with Evie agreeing to go to the studio at five-thirty in the afternoon.

“Would’ve killed you to play sick?” Evie protested as she took another bite of her cheese. Her dad only shrugged.

And with that, Evie found herself at the dance studio she used to practice at. She felt just as uncomfortable, if not more, than she felt at the supermarket. She stopped to stare at her own pictures on the wall and she felt utterly embarrassed. Everyone there thought she was this superstar and yet, there she was. Home. Defeated. Jobless. A failure. She wanted to go home more than anything and that distracted her from whatever Miss Barb was telling her. Something about a masterclass? Or three?

“Yeah… Let me get back to you—“

“Because, I was thinking,” Miss Barb already moved on. “…For next year, maybe, doing one of these,” She showed Evie a flyer.

“A dance competition,” Evie knew she wasn’t sounding excited enough to be believable but if Miss Barb noticed, she didn’t say a word. “Wow.”

She was really excited about said competition and since she absolutely kept on talking, Evie learnt that the competition had a new category where the teacher got to perform with the students and that the first round was right around the corner. Next weekend. She could only feel sorry for Miss Barb and her tiny students, who were going to fail catastrophically. But it wasn’t her problem to solve, so she excused herself and while they were heading back, Evie stopped on her tracks.

It couldn’t be.

“Dizzy?”

The younger girl looked at Evie upon hearing her name and stopped what she was doing. She looked fairly shocked to see Evie.

“What are you doing here?” Was all she asked.

Evie didn’t know what to say but to tell Dizzy she was there, against her will, because she was a jobless failure was definitely not the answer.

“You look so much…older.”

Dizzy adjusted her glasses and only scoffed in response. Evie couldn’t deal with that either. Not when the girl definitely wasn’t happy to see her. How could she?

And those were Evie’s only thoughts while Miss Barb forced her to sit and ‘talk’ to her students. Dizzy kept glaring at her and Evie tried to avoid the angry eyes by scrolling through her phone, not paying attention to any of it and giving vague and unhelpful replies to the little girl’s questions about Broadway.

Dizzy was an only child but she had found a sister in Evie and a sister in Mal. She was thrilled when the two older girls she cared about the most got into a relationship and then crushed when Evie left. Evie was very uncomfortable with all of it. It was her fault, sure. But what was she supposed to do? Not chase after her dreams?

Evie was about to sigh with relief after she finally got out of there when she stepped outside the studio and heard her dad’s voice while she put on her cap.

“Hey, look who I ran into.”

She glared at her dad because he wasn’t helping her case, at all, not once since she got back and then looked at the smirking purple haired woman that was Evie’s ex-girlfriend. Evie almost forgot how to breathe because somehow, Mal was even more attractive than when Evie left. Her hair was a bit longer and a deeper shade of purple. She was wearing Vans shirt, ripped skinny jeans and her trustworthy combat boots. All in black. Some things never changed.

“So,” Mal crossed her arms and gave Evie an amused smile. “The rumors are true. You’re back””

“Mal,” Evie greeted. “What are you doing here?” She dumbly asked.

“You know,” Mal pointed to the studio, like it was so obvious. “Dizzy and Celia? Did they wipe your memory while you were in New York?” Mal replied with a bit of a mocking tone.

“No, I know,” Evie instantly replied.

Of course Evie knew. They used to drive Dizzy and her best friend Celia to dance classes all the time. Of course, that didn’t change. Just like everything else around there.

“But,” Mal was smirking again. It was infuriatingly attractive of her. That smirk, that dimpled smirk. “What are you doing back home?”

Evie opened her mouth but no sound came out. If she couldn’t tell other people the real reason why she was back, she definitely couldn’t tell Mal. Not after she left like that.

“She’s back because I’m sick,” Her dad interrupted.

“Oh,” Mal looked at him and her smirk fell. “I didn’t know.”

Mal was smarter than that, Evie thought. There was no way she was falling for her dad’s fake coughing. And Evie would be right because Mal’s smirk fell back in place not even a second after her dad excused himself and walked over to his truck, leaving the girls alone.

“So…” Mal leaned on her car and looked at Evie.

“So…” Evie repeated, like an idiot and refrained from looking at Mal.

“So, ‘how are you, Mal?’” She then started with that stupid smirk plastered on her face, an amused tone in her bright voice and her dimples popping up. “I’m great! ‘How you been?’ Busy! Yeah, you know, Dizzy’s grandma has been getting a little forgetful so, I’ve been taking over more with Dizzy and Celia, on top of my job and the classes, you know, just doing the whole grown-up thing.”

Evie couldn’t help an amused smile of her own and a quirked brow. Mal could be so annoying. There she was. Being annoyingly beautiful and even when she was trying to annoy Evie just now by force-feeding her information she didn’t ask for (but that she wanted to know, nonetheless and they both knew it), Mal was so attractive. It was infuriating, really.

“Oh, by the way, your dad is still on to me to, uh, fix the barn from the time we, uh, accidentally started that fire.” Mal’s laid back attitude was not all there was to it but Evie was amused nonetheless and smiled a little at the memory. But there was only one thing she wanted to say to Mal and, by god, she was going to say it.

“Since I’m back for a bit and clearly we’re going to run into each other a lot, I need to say that…” Evie sighed, preparing herself to say the rest. “I know I broke your heart when I ended things in the most thoughtful way—“ Evie saw Mal nod and look down, trying to look unaffected and that made her heart hurt more than she was expecting.

“’Sorry to do this in a text, but we have to break up. E.’” Mal interrupted, reciting the text like she had been staring at it for hours, days, weeks. Made Evie’s insides turn.

“See, it was very thoughtfully worded,” Mal gave her a grin, that stupid grin that Evie knew was hiding her real feelings but it’s not like they were going to dig into that. They weren’t together anymore and whatever feelings Evie, or Mal, was having were simply because she knew she didn’t handle things well.

“I just want to make sure that if, you know, are any hard feelings that we can—“

“Oh, Evie,” Mal scoffed. “Evie, Evie, Evie, Evie,” Then she smirked. Again.

Evie raised a brow.

“Did I say something funny?”

“No, no,” Mal laughed. “It’s just- Look, E, that was high school. It’s history. Plus, it’s not like we were ever going to last.”

That, for some reason, hit Evie like a truck. Mal didn’t believe in them while they were together. It made her feel awful. That she just proved Mal right. That she was right not to trust and believe that they would have a future together.

“Well, anyway, I should go back to the books.” Mal immediately cut off whatever Evie was thinking of saying next and walked past her. “See you, Frank!” She yelled at Evie’s dad and walked away.

“That barn isn’t going to fix itself!” Frank yelled back, making Mal laugh.

Evie still thought it was a beautiful sound, Mal’s laugh.

//

“Well, I guess she’s over you,” Frank made an observation and made Evie look away from the wheel to give him an incredulous look. She didn’t want to talk about Mal anymore, especially not with him. “At least she’s a little taller.”

When Evie didn’t entertain him with an answer he moved his attention to the flyer that Miss Barb gave Evie at the studio.

“What’s this?”

“I don’t know, some dumb dance competition brochure,” Evie sighed, not in the mood for any more conversations. “She actually asked me to teach,” She complained. “Can you believe that? To teach,”

“Well, nice—“

“No! Not nice, Dad. I— I’m not going to teach something I should be doing myself! Might as well wear a big fat ‘Failure’ sign,”

“You know, this competition doesn’t look so dumb,” Frank said while passing his eyes on the flyer. “Finals are in Atlantic City with a bunch of muckety-muck judges,” He kept going. “’Tony Award winner Marissa Jaret Winokur’. You’re friends with her, right?”

“I mean, I danced in a benefit she did once, I doubt she has any idea of who I am,” Evie said miserably.

“And that ballet dancer, Nadya Khrist— Crazy long last name… and Big Broadway Guy, Willy Wang!“

Evie pressed the brakes so abruptly upon hearing that name that they almost flew out the window.

“ _Welly Wong_?!”

“Yeah… Isn’t that what I said?”

“There’s no way, give me that!” Evie pretty much ripped the flyer out of her dad’s hands and aggressively opened it. There was no mistaking it. It was in fact Welly Wong. The man she tried (and failed quite miserably) to impress. And he was now within her grasp.

“Son of a b—“

With that, Evie turned around, drove way past the speed limit and rushed into Miss Barb’s studio, bursting into the room and interrupting that class.

“I’ll do it!”

Miss Barb looked at her, confused.

“On one condition. We go all the way to Atlantic City. And I’m going to choreograph a killer Teacher Feature.”

Miss Barb clapped her hands, almost bursting with happiness.

All the way to Atlantic City. That was the _only_ way to go.

And Evie was going to make it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I have to indulge this. After watching Feel the Beat, how could I not do this KJDSHKGFSDK pls bear with me.
> 
> I hope you enjoy and see you soon!
> 
> Stay safe!
> 
> :) x


	2. t w o

Fourth place was not the outcome Evie had wanted. Well, she wanted first place, however she couldn’t ask such a thing of a bunch of kids who had less than five days to rehearse. And to say they sucked was putting it lightly. Her dad said she shouldn’t put it like that, they’re children after all. But she didn’t suck like that when she was a little girl. Did she?

Evie woke up with a massive headache and absolutely stayed under the covers thinking about the events of the day before. Everything went wrong. Evie was horrible at giving pep talks; the girls had zero work ethic and flunked the entire routine. The Teacher Routine didn’t work as well as she was expecting and she was in need of new boots.

“Fourth place… Missing the whole point…” She mumbled to herself, picking up the phone and playing the voice message the head of the judges sent her after she complained about their place in the competition once more. She was sure her Teacher Feature was going to give them the spot they needed to move forward but she was wrong, apparently.

_‘You’re an incredible dancer, Miss Evie. Flawless. You really are. But you’re missing the whole point. It’s to showcase the students and what you’ve taught them. It’s not about you taking the spotlight.’_

Evie groaned and buried her face in the pillow. How was she supposed to showcase the students? She didn’t teach them anything, if she was being completely honest with herself. She wasn’t supposed to be teaching in the first place. She didn’t like them and they didn’t like her, anyway.

She rolled on the bed and sort of looked around. It was weird to be back in her old bedroom. Her dad hadn’t touched anything since she left. Evie lazily dragged herself out of bed and stopped as her eyes caught an old frame.

“How could I forget?” Evie whispered to herself, picking it up. The frame had a picture of Mal and herself. Mal was kissing Evie’s cheek and that made Evie laugh so hard her eyes were closed when their friend Jay took the picture. She smiled because they looked so young. That picture had been taken on the day Mal asked her to be her girlfriend.

Simpler times, she figured. Where she had dreams and a pretty girlfriend. Her only worries were Mal failing Math because she refused to solve equations. _‘Equations are dumb. ‘Who the fuck mixes letters and numbers?’,_ she used to say during late nights of studying (organized by Evie, of course).

And now she had nothing. No job, no girlfriend and her last chance to pursue her dream was crushed by a bunch of children. 

“And whose fault is that?” Evie grumbled to herself and carefully placing the frame back where she found it, she got dressed (read: she put on a hoodie, leggings and sneakers) and didn’t bother to do her hair. She made messy bun out of it and walked right out to the stress like that.

Not that she had anywhere to be. She just walked to the nearest store and bought a whole bag of junk food, keeping her head down as she walked back, making plans in her head to spend her day eating unhealthy food and binge watching some show on Netflix.

She felt a hand in her shoulder and looked up.

“Atta girl.”

It was just a man she didn’t know, congratulating her for… She didn’t know?

“Hmm?” She mumbled but the man was already gone.

She kept getting pats on the back and compliments as people walked past her on the street and she really couldn’t understand why everyone was acting so weird until she actually looked up and stopped walking.

“You gotta be kidding me,” Evie mumbled, not believing her eyes.

She was looking at a massive banner that read **‘CONGRATS TO MISS EVIE’S DANCERS. 4 TH PLACE. WAY TO GO!’**

And before she could finish processing that, she flinched at Miss Barb’s voice as she stormed out of the dance studio yelling until she almost ran into Evie.

“Okay! Did they call you?”

“Who?” Evie was so confused at this point, so much happening before ten in the morning.

“The DanceDanceDanceDance Dance Competition. The Dewey Dance-‘Em-All Studio used a ten-year old in the eight-and-under category,” She explained quickly.

Evie just wanted to eat some cheese in peace, why was she still hearing about this?

“And I should care because—“

“You should care because they are disqualified. Which means we…came in third,”

_What?_

“We- We came in third,” Evie repeated, her brain cells finally putting it together.

“Yeah, we came in third,” Miss Barb was bouncing in her spot.

“We came in third!” Evie said it again, more enthusiastically now.

They weren’t disqualified! They were back in the game and Evie could still impress Welly Wong and get her career back!

Miss Barb took off running announcing to everyone who could hear that they were in fact back in the game. After spinning Evie around unannounced, of course.

Back in the studio, they went.

//

“Okay, ladies! Listen up! Somehow we’re still in this thing. But please, let’s not fool ourselves. We still have a lot of work to do,”

Evie’s excitement about being in the competition, still, died out the moment she was reminded that she had to keep teaching. Somehow, Dizzy’s glares made her almost as uncomfortable as teaching and she would rather not be there at all.

“Now, before we begin there are three basic ground rules. Rule number one: Focus! Clearly no one’s ever taught you that,” Evie gave Miss Barb a look. “No offense, Miss Barb,”

“Non taken,” Miss Barb chuckled.

“So, from now on, anyone who speaks without permission, drops and gives me twenty push-ups,”

“Yeah, right,” Dizzy laughed. Her laugh was followed by a few more.

“I’m not kidding,” Evie said, after a fake laugh, making them shut up. As silence ruled once more, Evie continued. “Number two: Commitment. A dancer without technique is nothing. So, right now, you are nothing,”

Evie ignored the confused and slightly hurt looks she was getting and kept pacing.

“Number Three: _Do. Exactly. What. I. Say._ Got it?”

When Evie got no answer, she refrained from rolling her eyes. The one time they were supposed to talk.

“Got it?” She asked again and her tone came out a little more terrifying than she was expecting but having everyone answer right away made her think that maybe that was the way to go.

Or maybe not?

The day flew by, with all of them inside that studio and Evie was not seeing any decent progress. Or any progress at all. It’s like they didn’t want to win this thing?

“Maybe we should take a little break.” Miss Barb whispered to Evie.

“They get five minutes at nine p.m.,” Evie replied barely looking at Miss Barb. As if Evie was ever allowed to take a break when she was their age. She danced until she couldn’t feel her legs.

Their next attempt was so bad Evie couldn’t stay quiet. One of the girls, Evie could not remember her name to save her life, dropped her glasses and trampled everyone else. Not that they were doing any better.

“Stop!”

Evie was on her very last nerve with every single one of them in that room and honestly, she couldn’t tell if she was just bad with kids or if it was her brain that was tired from failure after failure.

“Eyeballs! Do I have to duck-tape those to your face?” Evie once again ignored the hurt look she got in return and moved on to the next girl. “Fingers! I thought you could feel the beat. So, why are you always behind?”

Evie realized she didn’t know anyone’s names and she was too exhausted to care.

“And…Pigtails! You literally have no idea of what you’re doing. Don’t waste my time and go learn the steps. Go!”

The next few tries weren’t any better than after Evie yelled at them. She was so done she just wanted to go home.

“Stop! Do you hear me yelling at you!? What is your problem!?”

This time Dizzy stepped up and glared at her with such venom Evie wasn’t sure that was a normal thing for kids.

“Maybe it’s because we have no idea of what you’re yelling. On your legs? What does that mean? If we weren’t on our legs we’d be on our butts,”

Evie glared back at her, ignoring Miss Barb’s attempt at smoothing things.

“How about you try teaching? Instead of leaving us clueless standing here with our wieners swinging in the breeze.”

She didn’t remember Dizzy being so hostile but what wasn’t going to happen was Evie was not going to be disrespected by a child like that so she stepped closer to her.

“You think you can do better?” Evie’s tone was so menacing even Miss Barb was looking down.

“Well, you’re such a crappy teacher I certainly can’t do worse.”

That was it. She didn’t care that it was Dizzy, she didn’t care one bit.

“Get out of my class.”

“Make me.”

Evie decided she hated kids.

“Get out… of my… class.” They were dangerously close to each other at this point and no one dared to move a muscle.

“You get out of my face!”

Evie didn’t have to take this. She really didn’t. She was supposed to be dancing on Broadway, not taking care of kids that weren’t hers to begin with.

“You know what? I’m done,” Evie moved away from Dizzy and started walking away. “Good luck, Miss Barb, they’re hopeless.”

“I knew you wouldn’t stick around.”

Evie stopped. Dizzy didn’t seem angry anymore. She seemed…sad? Disappointed? And why did that hurt Evie more than her being outright rude? Evie had an idea of where that came from and she prayed to god it wasn’t true. She didn’t stick around to find out though. Before she knew she was locked inside one of the bathrooms and dialing Harry’s number. He was quick to pick up, thankfully.

**“Lass, ye better be callin’ tae apologize,”**

“Huh? For what, weirdo?” Evie replied a little confused.

**“Oh, it’s ye, Princess. Ah’m sorry, ah thought ye were Mar Jar,”**

“Who?”

**“Marissa Jaret Winokur,”** Harry cleared it up.

“Oh, I danced in a benefit she did for Broadway Cares,”

**“Well, ah loaned that thief these vintage Louboutins for this Tony Award Winners Luncheon, and now she claims she gave ‘em back. But why are ye callin’ me? Ah thought ye got banished tae, uh… Idaho?”**

“Wisconsin,” Evie sighed. Harry hadn’t changed one bit and it was actually nice to hear his voice. She kind of wished he was there.

**“Oh,”**

“Long story short, this amazing opportunity presented itself to dance in front of Welly Wong—“

She was interrupted by a voice and stopped to hear more carefully.

“Hold on.”

She opened the stall door next to hers and found the girl she named Pigtails crying. She looked up.

“Am I really that bad?”

“Uh…”

What was Evie supposed to do? Say no? That would be lying to the kid. Should she lie? Evie wouldn’t have liked to have been lied to if she were in that position so she gave the girl a look.

“Yeah…” Evie replied shaking her head.

“I just wanna be good at something.” The girl replied in between sobs and Evie was getting so uncomfortable that she just closed the stall door. “You still there?” She asked Harry.

**“Well, lass, yer maternal instincts are beyond aspirational,”** He laughed.

“What am I supposed to do, Harold?” Evie asked, a little desperate.

**“Princess, the way ah see it, ye might want tae take a step back.”** And just like that he hung up on her, before she could even ask what that was supposed to mean.

She sighed heavily and was about to leave for good when she heard more voices coming out of the dance room, hushed, quiet voices. The door was ajar so Evie peaked and found Miss Barb with her daughter and one of the youngest girls, sitting in the middle of the room. Since the place was empty, Evie could hear what they were saying.

“…Being ‘on your leg’ is like the difference between a banana and a carrot,” Evie heard Miss Barb say and she actually had both those things in her hands, showing them to the girls.

Evie stood closer to the door, watching the scene unfold.

“See?” Miss Barb continued as she tried to make the banana stand on its own. “Crooked things can’t balance,” Then she showed them the carrot, standing perfectly still. “But straight things…” She gasped with a little smile seeing the girls widening their eyes.

“Wait, why didn’t she just say that?” One of the girls asked.

“Oh, you know. Miss Evie is kinda funny. You know, she always wants to be perfect, and, you know, she was about your age when she decided that she needed to become an amazing dancer. So, she started pushing herself harder and harder and…she forgets that other people aren’t as perfect as she is.”

Miss Barb paused for a little and Evie’s heart was aching at this point. She felt awful about how she had been dealing with everything and everyone around her and seeing how easily Miss Barb got through such young girls while all Evie had done was yell… What the hell was she doing?

“So, we…got to be real patient with her. Okay?” The girls nodded, seemingly understanding every word they just heard from Miss Barb. “Can I tell you a secret?”

Evie furrowed her brows.

“Sometimes I feel like a banana,” Miss Barb whispered and the girls seemed shocked their mentor would say such a thing. “Yeah,” She nodded. “What about you? Are you a banana or a carrot?”

“Carrot!” The girls replied quietly but excitedly.

“I’m so proud of you,” Miss Barb chuckled. “Good job.”

Evie felt really bad. She still didn’t know what to do with those girls but she knew that overhearing that felt like a punch in the gut so, she walked away and out of the studio wondering if she was a horrible person after all.

//

The next day Evie still felt awful so, she ended up going out for a run. To clear her head. Somewhere where people wouldn’t bother her. And for a while it worked. With her playlist blasting on her earphones and not a single human in sight, Evie was able to relax a bit. Until she ended up on a flower field and stopped upon seeing a familiar face in the middle of it.

“Is that…” She whispered, pausing the song she was hearing.

It was. It was no other than Dizzy, all by herself, running, jumping… No.

Dancing. She was dancing. Dizzy was dancing to a melody in her head, Evie figured, but she didn’t need a soundtrack to tell that Dizzy could in fact feel the beat. And it was beautiful to watch. Evie almost forgot how awfully that girl was dancing just the day before. She got a little lost in that energy until she realized Dizzy was no longer dancing and was staring at her instead.

“You don’t have to stop,” Evie said as Dizzy started walking back.

“I have to get home anyway,” Dizzy grumbled but stopped in front of Evie.

Evie didn’t know what to say to her so she fell back into what she did best. Technique.

“If you connect to your center and you really hold your core, you’ll have more control of your body,”

Dizzy looked at her, not really surprised that’s all she got.

“Super, thanks,” She mumbled with disinterest as she walked past Evie.

Evie had an opportunity of actually talking to Dizzy without anyone else hearing them and she tried to take it.

“…And if there’s ever anything that you want to talk about that you…can’t talk to anyone else about.. Been there, done that, so—“

“All set. Can I go now?” Dizzy didn’t seem like she wanted to talk, though. Evie didn’t give up just yet.

“Look, Dizzy, I’m just trying to meet you halfway,”

“We’re not in class, so I don’t have to listen to anything you say,” Dizzy grumbled stubbornly.

“What is your problem?” Evie asked, half knowing the answer already but wishing it wasn’t true. “What happened to you? You weren’t like this before,”

“Before what? Before you left or before my mom died?”

“No, don’t use that as a crutch,” Evie said, shaking her head and ignoring the ache that Dizzy’s words were giving her. Her leaving couldn’t have caused such chaos. “I had to grow up without a mom too,”

“Did she die?”

“No,” Evie cut her off immediately. “My mom left me by choice. You want to unpack that one?”

“Well, like mother like daughter, I guess,”

Evie looked at her and she hated that she was right.

“Excuse me?”

“You left without even saying goodbye,”

That was hurtful. Dizzy meant more than herself with that statement and Evie could feel herself being defensive. Protecting herself and her heart by closing herself off.

“Dizzy, people live their own lives. Get used to it. Besides it’s not like I was dating you,” Dizzy had not only been close to her, she was close to Mal. And Evie knew Dizzy was defending Mal too.

“Right. Then I’d at least have gotten a text message, but who cares about the dumb little girl anyway.”

Evie didn’t have an answer for that and even if she did, Dizzy did not give her any more of her time, pushing past her for real this time and walking away.

“Well done, Evie. You’re a bitch.” Evie mumbled to herself.

Dizzy was angry that Evie left unannounced. That Evie left her. That Evie left Mal, of all people. Evie never wanted to leave Mal and the more time she spent back home, the more certain she was of it. She chased her dream and became a stone cold bitch in the process, losing herself in performing and staying on top. She cursed her mother for abandoning her without so much as a goodbye and there she was, being just like her.

Those thoughts haunted Evie for the next couple of days and she found herself in the little park she liked to go to when she was little. To dance of course. She sat on the only bench there, scrolling through her Instagram feed, watching people in line for the Welly Wong show auditions.

“This could be me but I’m stupid, aren’t I?” She whispered, closing the App, not wanting to see more of it. She considered calling Mal but she wondered if Mal actually wanted to see her. Probably not.

She sighed and cursed under breath when she saw Dizzy’s grandmother coming out of the jeep that had just parked up front. Having nowhere else to hide, because the last thing she wanted was to have a conversation with any human, Evie dumbly hid behind the bench she was sitting on.

“Hey,”

Evie froze. What a great time to embarrass herself in front of Mal, who she so happened to be thinking about just now. She closed her eyes for a second before turning around to see Mal, with her hand in the pockets of her ripped black skinny jeans and her classic stupid smirk plastered obnoxiously on her pretty face.

“What are you doing down there?” Mal inquired, amused. Evie reckoned that seeing her hiding behind a garden bench like an idiot was bringing Mal a big serotonin boost.

“Looking for my phone,” Evie replied. She wasn’t very good at lying and even if she was, she still couldn’t ever fool Mal. But alas, that’s what she went with.

“It’s in your hand,” Mal gestured, clearly playing along. She gave her an amused look.

“Yes, that’s because I already found it,” Evie answered. “Obviously,” She added, trying not to look even more foolish.

She hid a little smile and got back into sitting on the bench.

“So, what are you doing here?” Evie asked.

“Oh, you know, not much,” Mal replied with an easy smile. “I was just walking down the street when I saw Dizzy’s grandma drive by in my truck,”

Mal stepped closer, standing behind the bench chuckling at how the old lady seemed to be having fun all by herself.

“Technically she’s not allowed to drive anymore but she loves this merry-go-round,” Mal explained while placing her hands on the bench and moving to what she actually wished to talk about. “So, Dizzy told me you guys had a fun class last night,”

“Oh, yeah,” Evie scoffed. “It was a barrel of laughs,”

Mal knew damn well the class hadn’t been fun at all.

“I mean, I am trying to help her but it’s like a brick wall,”

“That doesn’t sound right,” Mal countered.

“Really?” Evie asked, looking at Mal.

“Yeah, the part about you trying to help someone?” Mal explained with a smirk, making Evie roll her eyes.

“Ha, ha, very funny,”

Mal chuckled but then looked at her more seriously.

“Hey, look, she’s not going to put on the welcome mat just because you’re back. You know, you’re the reason she started dancing. You were her lifeline and then…poof,”

Mal wasn’t looking at Evie but she could tell. Mal was hurt too, still and it made Evie feel so much worse.

“If you really want to help her, try remembering what it was like when you were in her shoes. You know,” Mal grinned. “When you were all moody and wearing flannel,”

“That never happened,” Evie smiled amusedly,

“Pictures don’t lie,” Mal teased.

“No, I have no recollection,” Evie actually chuckled and Mal laughed with her.

It felt good to laugh with Mal again.

“I’m really sorry, Mal,” Evie looked at her. She had her walls up all the time but it was ridiculous how Mal brought them down without even trying. “I never meant to hurt you the way I did and I wish I had a good excuse for it because maybe you’d feel better but I don’t. For what it’s worth, I felt- I feel awful about it,”

Mal listened and gave Evie a look she knew so well. Intense and beautiful.

“But you do have a reason, E,” Mal smiled, bringing up the nickname only she used with her. “You were born to be star. I’d never be in the way of your success. I just wish you would’ve talked to me. Instead of, you know, via text,”

“I’m really sorry about that.” Evie didn’t know what else to tell her but she knew she meant that apology. Maybe it was the most heartfelt thing to come out of her mouth in years.

Mal placed a hand on Evie’s shoulder.

“I know you are,” She nodded. “I accept your apology,” Then she grinned. “One less thing for your pretty little head of yours to worry about.”

With one last smile, Mal walked away, with her hands in her pockets and whistling some random tune.

Mal was right. That definitely lifted a huge weight off Evie’s chest. Maybe she could finally try to be better and try to make up for being such a bitch for so long.

Maybe coming home hadn’t been such a mistake.

Maybe it was exactly what Evie needed.

//

Evie realized, the next day that she sucked at apologies that weren’t meant for Mal as she stood in front of the children she disappointed. She was willing to try, though.

“Rehearsals can get intense. It’s part of the job,” Evie started.

“Dude, you walked out after one class,”

“We’re just kids. We don’t learn as fast as you professionals,”

“And what about rule number two? Commitment?”

Evie heard the girls and she couldn’t possibly find an excuse for all that. So, she didn’t try.

“Point taken,” She sighed and then looked at them. “If you promise to do what I tell you and curtail the attitude, I promise to honor my commitment and see it through to the end.” That was a lousy way to apologize but Evie really didn’t want to get into the reasons why she was struggling. “Deal?”

Evie watched as the girls huddled in a little circle in whispers and sign language (She really had to learn sign language, like right away but she’d think about that later) as they decided to either take or refuse the deal. All she could do was wait. Fortunately it didn’t take them long and they all came from their little meeting, stepping forward to face Evie.

“So, do we have a deal?” Evie asked.

A beat.

“Deal.”

Evie felt relieved and nodded.

“Okay. Let’s start with some work with the barre because we have a lot to do in two weeks.”

Things were back on track and Evie prayed to God not to screw it up this time.

But only time would tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two of this thing. Tell your friends.
> 
> Stay safe y'all!
> 
> :) x


	3. t h r e e

Evie wasn’t sure her approach was quite right just yet. But the perfectionist in her died a little inside to see such lack of… everything. No doubt, the girls were improving but the pace of their evolution was infuriatingly slow (to Evie’s standards that is) and Evie’s patience was constantly running out.

When did she stop being tolerant of anyone other than herself? She couldn’t tell but it worried her, as she was the voice of command in that studio.

“How many times do I have to say this? You have to practice at home.” Evie reminded the class once more, seeing Dizzy and Fingers clash into each other and fall down.

Even after endless hours of teaching different positions and teaching them what each one of them was called, Evie still had a very clumsy group of girls. She knew she was being watched. By parents and other family members. By Mal, who was lazily leaning into one of the doors, watching Evie’s every move. Evie nudged at her in a silent appeal for her to make sure Dizzy works on her dancing outside of the studio. After receiving a nod from a very serious Mal, Evie allowed herself a tiny little smile.

“Again! Prepare!”

This had to work. For everyone’s sake. For Evie’s sake.

And Evie started to realize that it wasn’t just her that wanted this to work. The girls’ parents seems just as much if not more invested in their goal as Evie, from coming to her to ask for tips so they could help their daughters to Evie catching glimpses of them actually working on their free time.

She never stayed to watch. Until she was walking down the street, (she was out of cheese and that simply could not happen) and saw Dizzy with Mal outside.

“Five, six, ready, turn! Step two and two!”

Evie had to stop, she couldn’t keep walking. She watched Mal do the dance moves with a lot of conviction and while she wasn’t a dancer at heart, Evie was still compelled to watch her efforts to help Dizzy master the dance routine. A routine Mal herself memorized.

“And three! Hip!” Mal shot a very unamused Dizzy an adorable grin after a dramatic hair flip.

“What?” Mal laughed. “Am I doing it wrong?”

“I…” Dizzy trailed off in what seemed to be the beginning of her honest opinion on Mal’s ability to dance when she spotted Evie from across the street.

Evie realized it was too late to try to hide because Mal had already followed Dizzy’s gaze and spotted her as well, offering her a smile.

“Are you just going to stand there or are you going to come over here and tell me how much I suck at dancing?” Mal yelled from Dizzy’s grandmother’s front yard, flashing Evie a smirk this time.

Evie rolled her eyes but crossed the street to join Mal. Dizzy was gone by the time Evie got there.

“You’re a decent dancer,” Evie said as a greeting.

“Yeah, right. You flatter me, Evie,” Mal quipped as she sat down on the porch. “So, what brings you here?”

Evie pulled a block of cheese out of her bag, “I went to the store to buy this. Was heading home when some idiot on the other side of the street yelled at me,” Evie offered a witty smile of her own.

“Ah,” Mal laughed and patted the spot next to her, inviting Evie to join her. “Maybe the idiot caught you staring,”

Evie hesitated at first but Mal’s easy smile and her slightly quirked brow were inviting. Evie slowly sat down next to Mal, placing her grocery bag on the porch and hugging her knees to her chest.

“Fair enough,”

Mal took a moment to look at Evie.

“Still having trouble with the little dancers?” Mal asked, taking a guess from Evie’s vexed expression.

“You’ve been there, Mal,” Evie replied matter-of-factly. “They’re not going to make it in time, not with how slowly things are going. Two weeks is not a lot for kids who have never danced properly before,”

Mal stayed silent and realized that even after all those years, she still knew Evie very well. Something less technical was on her mind and Mal could tell. It made her heart pound a little harder.

Evie exhaled.

“I’m trying, Mal,” She hugged herself closer. “But I don’t know the first thing about teaching. I don’t even know their names,”

Mal placed a hand on Evie’s shoulder.

“Maybe you should start with that, then,” Mal offered softly, making Evie’s head turn to actually face her. Mal smiled. “C’mon, you have got to know those nicknames aren’t the way to go, E,”

There was a pause.

“What does that have to do with dancing?”

Mal simply shook her head, her eyes sad when she looked back up at Evie.

“Really, E? Still pretending you’re not as smart as you are?”

Evie blushed. She did a lot of pretending when she was younger, something Mal helped her with. Mal was the only one who knew that Evie’s mother was the main source of her insecurities and therefore she would always remind Evie that her brain was just as pretty as her face. And after this callout, Evie wondered if she had fallen into it again without even realizing it.

“I- I don’t know,” Evie answered quietly but honestly. “I’ve been questioning a lot about myself since I came back,” She added with a sigh.

“Why did you come back?” Mal inquired once more, this time expecting an honest answer. Evie could feel the tension. They were so close. Having a serious conversation after being apart for so long and she almost forgot how intense it was to be and to talk to Mal. And she missed it. _She missed talking to Mal_.

“I did something super dumb and it cost me a big Broadway role,” Evie answered.

“I’m sure the old bat will survive,” Mal’s lips quirked into a smirk and not a second later, her laugh filled the air.

“ _Mal!_ ” Evie practically shrieked, her cheeks flushed in absolute embarrassment with the realization that Mal had watched the viral video that was currently ruining her life. She would never admit that Mal’s laugh was also warming up her cheeks and her heart. But she knew she missed it. _She missed Mal’s laugh._

“I’m sorry!” Mal cracked another dimpled smile, her eyes a little teary from how hard she had just laughed. “I know that ended badly for you and I’m sorry about that. But you have to admit; an old lady screeching like a harpy and then getting pushed off a stage _is_ funny,”

When Evie rolled her eyes, Mal only shrugged.

“Honestly, Evie, do you really want to work for someone like that? Even if you didn’t, you know, break half her body, she still seems like the type of person that looks at you and sees a number. I think you’re so much more than that and you should be allowed to work for and with people who see value beyond the number on your back,”

Evie felt a little self-conscious for a moment, realizing how much Mal had changed and grown.

She remembered Mal as the kid who sat in the back of the classroom so she could doodle in her notebook without being bothered and that would graffiti the school walls (and get detention for it too). Not that she was just a troublemaker, not at all. Evie was drawn to Mal precisely because she was different from everyone else. She was this purple haired unpredictable girl who liked a little mischief but who had the kindest heart.

Evie realized that she purposely kept that image of Mal in her head, as if time in her hometown was frozen while she was gone. Maybe she was afraid to find a completely different Mal sometime in the future. A Mal that didn’t love her anymore. A Mal that had moved on. And while she was relieved that Mal was still Mal, she felt a lump in her throat. Evie didn’t regret chasing her dreams. She did regret leaving Mal behind and not being mature enough to deal with the situation. And after thinking about how she was dealing with her life in general, maybe she hadn’t matured at all.

“Evie?”

“I…” Evie trailed off. The silence that filled the air, as she was lost in thought, became heavy. She couldn’t deal with that right now. “I should go.. Thanks for the advice.”

Evie rushed out of the little property, missed Mal’s confused look and her yelp that she realized might have been connected with the fact that she got home empty handed. The grocery bag. She left it there.

She might’ve left a piece of her there too.

Goddamn, she missed her. _She missed Mal._

//

Evie had never been one to sulk. Or at least, she wouldn’t sulk for long. Being in such a competitive and fast-paced environment for so long taught her not to waste too much time with feelings or doing nothing or else she’d miss the train.

She knew that eventually she’d have to process every Mal related emotion but for now, she did what she does best: Drown in work. Her night was filled with some extensive google searches and notes scribbled down an old notebook that she brought with her the following days.

Dancing and teaching proved to be quite the task because the pouring rain outside did _not_ stay outside. It was as if the universe knew she was finally on the right track and decided to challenge Evie further. After placing pots and buckets all over the studio, the floor was still wet and slippery and the girls were forced to wear ponchos over their clothes but Evie was doing her best to see this through.

“Spotting will keep you from getting dizzy!” Evie announced after sticking smiley faces made out of tape with different colors in the mirror and on every wall. She was determined to actually get the job done with proper teaching methods for children.

“Spot the faces,” She continued, sticking some red tape to one of the girl’s face to keep her glasses from falling. She saw the tiniest smile on the girl’s face and it kind of helped her relax. Maybe this could work. “Ready girls? Take it away.”

After a few command voices (Red! Blue! Green! Purple!) and a little of Miss Barb running around trying not to fall down to translate Evie’s commands to sign language, she almost stopped to smack herself in the face. Her new strategy was clearly working. Her class was clumsy, yes but the smiley faces were working. She even caught Dizzy grinning for a second.

It was working. The following days showed real signs of improvement.

“Are we bananas or are we carrots?”

Maybe Evie exposed herself with that one, letting Miss Barb know she had been listening. She grinned at Evie, though.

The next day, Evie pulled the Coach’s daughter to the front line and his excitement was too good to pass on, since he interrupted the class.

“That’s twenty, Coach,” Evie informed quirking a brow.

“Sorry, Miss Evie, I’ll do it right here,” He sheepishly apologized and dropped down.

“Make it forty,”

Evie heart was content to see the amused smirk plastered on Mal’s face. She wasn’t actually sure of what Mal was smirking about, given their last conversation but it made her happy nonetheless.

It was only after a couple more days that after Evie asked for a full display of the full dance routine that she truly saw something. After endless hours of practice and of Evie experimenting with new ways to keep them interested and focused on the goal without chasing them away like last time, they performed the full routine without falls or missteps. Sure, it was all very new and clumsy. However, it was finally there.

“That…”

The silence was deafening. Everyone’s eyes were expectantly on Evie. Was she delaying the rest of her sentence to bask on that moment and for dramatic effect? _Perhaps_.

“…Didn’t suck.”

The explosion of happiness that followed her statement might have caught her a little off guard. Who knew people could be excited about… Not sucking?

Yet, both kids and adults cheered, laughed and jumped around happily. Evie wouldn’t say she was attached to any of them, however, that made her feel good. It felt good because this time she was doing something right. Their happiness was earned.

“Alright, back to one!” Evie prompted. Sure, it was earned but it needed to be short lived. Their work wasn’t done. “You still suck a little!” She added after more _‘We don’t suck!’_ yelps.

Her efforts were trampled (quite literally) by a piece of ceiling falling down right in the middle of the room as the old studio finally gave in to the incessant rain. She felt Mal’s eyes on her after jumping back to protect herself and on Evie, they stayed. She had forgotten what it felt like to have that pair of protective green eyes on her. Butterflies, those were butterflies in her stomach. _Oh, god._

“I mean…We can’t dance in this…Now what we do?” Miss Barb wondered. “Class is over. Obviously.”

Evie hadn’t really been paying attention; a little lost in the moment she was once again caught off guard when her students rushed to the door.

“Hey, where are you going?” She called, trying to get their attention but half of them already out the door.

_“To the park!”_

Evie only had time to grab an umbrella and follow the rest of them. Interesting enough, rain had been present in some of Evie’s most important moments of her life. The day she left for New York all those years ago. The day she came back. Now she found herself under the unwavering weather again. Except she didn’t feel so hollow.

She stood under the umbrella, next to Miss Barb as joyful laughter filled the park and muffled the sound of the rain hitting the fabric of the umbrella. Evie didn’t think she had done much but it was sinking in that all of that happiness was cause by something she said. And it made her feel good. _Less hollow._

She had felt empty inside as she left to pursue her dreams and only now she was realizing just how much. A piece of her never truly left for New York and she was staring back at Evie again, her bright green eyes with a spark of something she couldn’t decipher in that moment. She could only stare back and return the warm little smile Mal was giving her.

_So much left unsaid,_ Evie thought.

She didn’t remember making the decision to drop her umbrella and embrace the rain. Nevertheless, she wasn’t unhappy with where her brain led her body. Evie spent her whole life trying to avoid the rain. To walk between the raindrops. To never get wet. She thought that she could achieve perfection that way. _Maybe even impress her mother, who thought her dream was dumb._

As the rain took over, making her clothes stick to her body and messing up the perfect ponytail she had, turning her hair into a wavy mess, Evie thought that maybe she had been wrong. Again.

“You did this,”

Evie almost jumped at the soft whisper, so close to her ear and turned her head to see Mal, who also ditched her umbrella and stood right behind Evie, soaking wet. _When did she move and why was she so close?_

“Huh?”

“Look at how happy they are,” Mal smiled and stepped closer to stand next to Evie. “What you think matters to them. You made them happy,”

Evie looked in between the girls, very much covered in mud and back to Mal.

“Didn’t think they liked me,” Evie shrugged.

“You can be a bit prickly but other than that I don’t see what’s not to like,” Mal teased, her lips quirking into the most annoying smirk ever.

“Hey!” Evie protested, shoving her arm and Mal burst out laughing, making those butterflies from before manifest themselves again. Evie almost went blind.

_Maybe Evie was royally fucked because she still loved Mal._

//

Evie thought that pulling off a dusty blanket from an equally dusty mirror was a peculiar way to start her day but alas, that’s where she found herself. In her dad’s old barn. She had been wanting to dance for a while and that was probably the only place where she could. To dance for herself, by herself. No teaching of anything. Just a break from having to explain how to do this thing she had been doing since before she could walk.

Music wasn’t required for her to place herself in _the zone_. The space between the physical and the spiritual. A different dimension of sorts for when humans were in deep into something they love. Evie was sure she had heard those words somewhere. Maybe a movie. That’s what dancing was for her. Somewhere she could go when the real world wasn’t kind. And she had been lucky to do it as a living. Maybe she took it for granted.

Those were the thoughts that filled her mind as she danced to the sound of nothing. The music wasn’t even in her head. But her body moved to a non-existent melody, like some beautiful cosmic occurrence. It came naturally for her. It was what she was meant to do. She believed that. 

The most beautiful thing about _the zone_ was that Evie would totally lose track of time. She had no idea for how long she had been dancing and as she slowly pulled herself back to the real world she found that one of the reasons she was there in the first place was standing by the door, looking at her in awe. _Mal_.

“Hi, uh…” Evie greeted, quickly getting up.

“No, no, I didn’t mean to…” Mal trailed off, a little flustered that she was caught staring and that she interrupted Evie.

A beat. Green met brown.

“It’s okay,” Evie assured her with a shy laugh.

“I just need to see what I need to pick up at the hardware store,” Mal explained as she walked past Evie. “I just had some time; I thought I’d fix the barn and get your dad off my back,”

“You’ve always been an artist but who would’ve thought back in high school, you’d end up being so…handy,” Evie commented, turning around and slowly following Mal.

“Yeah, I know right?” Mal chuckled softly. She put down the toolbox she was carrying and started climbing the nearest wooden ladder. “You know, not that any of this is how I pictured my life would be,” She added as she climbed.

“Yeah,” Evie agreed. “Welcome to the club,”

“Oh, please,” Mal sneered, a little smirk dancing on her lips as she sat down on top of the ladder. “You were dancing on Broadway. I’d say your life turned out pretty much exactly how you thought it would,”

Evie leaned on a wooden pole, Mal’s words swirling in her head and letting them stay in silence for a moment. She thought that too but right now, she wasn’t so sure about it anymore.

“You know, M…” Evie started, definitely getting Mal’s attention at her use of the nickname. “…Even if your life isn’t entirely what you pictured, I do really admire what you did. Dropping your life as an artist to stay here… For Dizzy—“

“I didn’t, you know… ‘drop’ my life,” Mal interrupted with a shrug. “You just…You do what you have to. What you think it’s right,”

“No, I know,” Evie nodded and a big smile formed on her lips. Mal’s moral compass had always been there in the midst of the chaos that was that girl as a teenager. But now it was out in the open. And it was beautiful. “That’s just what you do. I just meant that I—“

“I know,” Mal interrupted again and looked down for a moment. “It’s just not exactly the… big plan we came up with,”

“Running away to New York together,” Evie completed Mal’s sentence, feeling the same heaviness she felt the first time she saw Mal after coming back home. “No…it’s not…” She shifted a little in her spot, suddenly uncomfortable.

“You know, E…” Mal was looking at her with a sheepish smile. “After… _‘The Text’,”_

Evie broke eye contact. She told herself it was for the best and it was a lie. She knew it. She wasn’t proud of it or herself.

“… I went to New York… And then I saw you,” Mal continued. She stopped for a second when Evie turned her head, her mouth agape, surprised by that confession. One she believed Mal never planned on making. Until now.

“What?” Evie couldn’t believe what she was hearing right now.

“You were coming out of your rehearsal on 46th Street,” Mal kept talking and Evie couldn’t help but feel that Mal had played that moment in her head over and over. “And you had never looked happier,”

Evie felt light headed.

“And then I knew,” Mal’s voice became quieter. More vulnerable. “I had to let you go.”

Evie hadn’t cried, not once after the breakup. She sent in that text, walked away to New York and kept going on with her life. She knew being away from all of it made it easier. To cope. To pretend it never happened. To believe her own lies when she recited them in front of the mirror.

_‘It was for the best’_

_‘You did what you had to do, to survive’_

But right now, all she wanted to do was cry. Because Evie knew she destroyed a really good thing when there was no need for such drastic measures.

The heavy silence weighed on Mal a little, as she caught herself in her own vulnerability and swiftly climbed back down the ladder, jumping the last three or four steps to land in front of Evie.

“You know we— We wouldn’t have worked out for a million reasons,” Mal was lying, covering up her emotions again with an easy yet a little crooked smile.

“Yeah, no,” Evie lied right back.

“But…” Mal gave Evie an honest smile this time. Evie just hated that it was a sad one. “I bet it would’ve been fun to try. Maybe the barn would be intact,”

Evie laughed a little.

“When I said I was cold, I was thinking you’d lend me your jacket. I didn’t think you’d try to breathe fire with the lighter you stole from Jay,”

“Well, it was the night of our graduation and you looked like a princess. I just wanted to be the dragon who protected her princess,” Mal laughed back with fondness. “We really set fire to a barn, huh?”

“Nope,” Evie shook her head, popping the _‘p’_. “ _You_ set fire to a barn when you dropped the lighter near the gasoline for the truck, dragon girl,”

They laughed together, caught in the moment. Evie missed how Mal stopped laughing to look at her once more, in awe of her. When Evie finally looked, Mal cleared her throat.

“Well… I should, uh… probably get to it.”

“Yeah, me too.” Evie nodded, a little numb.

She watched Mal leave the barn; a little sad she didn’t look back.

“I’m sorry, Mal.” Evie whispered to herself.

She then sat down, leaning against the mirror and hugging her knees to her chest, letting her tears fall at last. Sadness filled her chest and spilled from her eyes. Mal had followed her to New York. Mal had believed in them until she saw Evie in her element and convinced herself that she could never compete with that. And Evie let Mal believe that. Evie let Mal believe she wasn’t enough or worth keeping around.

Evie was defeated. Grossed out. Angry. She wanted to disappear. And she was furiously in love with Mal.

_So, what now?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, guess who is actually updating her WIP's? This girl!
> 
> Anyway, hopefully you haven't forgotten about this one. Hope you like it.
> 
> Stay safe <3


End file.
